Rarely do the stars align perfectly in racing but the Irish Champion Stakes came up smelling of roses when nine individual Group 1 winners were declared for Friday’s Leopardstown contest.
A clash between English Derby winner Harzand and English Oaks winner Minding would usually be enough to set pulses racing around the world but the Irish duo command only top billing to what is a fantastically deep field.
Minding’s globe-trotting Ballydoyle stablemates Highland Reel, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner and Found,who last scored at the top level at the Breeders’ Cup in October, also take their chance.
• Geoffrey Riddle: The President of the UAE Cup continues revival at Doncaster and Churchill Downs
The Coolmore trio will be joined by Group 3 winner Sir Isaac Newton and will be pitted against the Godolphin pair of Hawkbill, who won the Coral-Eclipse in July, and Moonlight Magic, who has finished three times behind Harzand this season.
Add in this season’s French Derby winner Almanzor, and New Bay, who preceded him at Chantilly 12 months ago, surprise Prince Of Wales’s Stakes winner My Dream Boat, and The Grey Gatsby, who beat Australia in the 2,000-metre Irish Champion Stakes two seasons ago, and in terms of potential and class there has not been a better race in the world this year.
There are 13 runners, the biggest field since the €1.25 million (Dh5.2m) race moved to Leopardstown from Phoenix Park in 1991.
“We couldn’t be happier,” Leopardstown Racecourse chief executive Pat Keogh said. “The Qipco Irish Champion Stakes is certainly one of the races of the year and the line-up is quite unbelievable.
“With Minding taking on the colts for the first time, including a dual Derby winner in Harzand and a French Derby winner in Almanzor, it is a dream come true to have them racing at Leopardstown.”
Ireland’s gain is surely France’s loss, and the fallout may have a lasting effect.
The Irish Champion Stakes is the centrepiece to Irish Champions Weekend, a two-day meet that was inaugurated only last year.
Alongside Friday’s feature stands the Group 1 Matron Stakes, and on Sunday the Curragh puts on three Group 1 races. In total, there is just over €4m in prize-money across the two days.
Almanzor arrived in Ireland yesterday and was accompanied by French filly Qemah, who is seeking a Group 1 hat-trick when she lines up in the Matron Stakes against Irish Guineas heroine Jet Setting, the only filly to beat Minding this season, and the unbeaten British raider Persuasive.
Alongside New Bay, all three French horses had options on Sunday at Chantilly that hosts the official trials for next month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The Group 1 Prix Foy, a recognised trial for the Arc for older horses, drew only three runners.
Japanese Derby winner Makahiki has only five rivals to dispatch in the Prix Niel, the trial for three year olds. The Prix Vermielle, for fillies and mares, has attracted only six runners.
The President of the UAE Cup returned to Doncaster on Thursday in dramatic circumstances when hot favourite Tayf threw away the £80,000 (Dh390,613) Group 1 UK Arabian Derby under Olivier Peslier in the shadow of the wining post.
Up until the final 300 metres Peslier had ridden the perfect race, letting Lightning Bolt and Dossar Athbah soften each other up during the early stages before Al Shaqab’s Khataab looked to have broken Lightning Bolt’s will by sneaking up the rail.
Those two kept on dourly as Tayf swept to the front down the middle of the course, but once Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani’s runner had sniffed victory he clearly felt his job was done and started to cruise.
Peslier also appeared to believe victory was assured and stopped encouraging his mount but Adrie De Vries eked out a little more to get Lightning Bolt up.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
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Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
